Not sure about you, but I am finding difficult to embrace holiday cheer.

I used to relish being immersed in all the trimmings and baubles of the Holiday season. I ascribed whole-heartedly to the idea of Christmas magic. I believed in earnest the messages of saving and light brought to us by Christ in the beautiful carols I loved to sing and hear. There was even a greedy little child in me that couldn’t wait to be showered with material mayhem on Christmas morning.

That wide-eyed, pudgy-fingered, little blonde-haired innocent has been replaced by a somewhat jaded, world-wearied-woman.

Well, kind of.

I believe in people’s right to worship the concept of a loving God, I believe in spirituality, I believe in miracles, I believe in so many things that Grumpy refers to as “woo”.  I pray.  I pray all the time because there are so many things worth being thankful for and so many people going through trials and I hold them in my heart and I pray so hard for them!

I also hold the conviction that there’s good energy and human kindness so impactful and far-reaching that it cannot be explained.  TOTAL woo. There is no force in the universe that has yet been able to convince me that kindness, light, integrity, Love, and even a little bit of magic exists.

Woo is sometimes the only acceptable explanation for the strength and resilience of my marriage to Grumpy after all these years. There is a touch of the woo that comes through in the Love between my friends and I. I see it in my children when they are kind, warm and altruistic. I see it in all kinds of faces and places all year long, and there is a marked increase in my observation of woo at this time of year.

Why do I ascribe to woo and defend everyone else’s good woo too? I’m not ashamed to woo, and thought it was time you all knew.

So what is woo?

According to The Skeptic’s Dictionary woo is:

woo-woo

 

Woo-woo (or just plain woo) refers to ideas considered irrational or based on extremely flimsy evidence or that appeal to mysterious occult forces or powers.

Grumpy takes his concept of woo a step further than these definitions. He sees most religious convictions and beliefs as woo. My dad is a devout Christian and very active in the local church community. I’ve always admired his faith. Nobody would ever accuse him of being even a little bit nutty. He’s respected and admired by most of the people lucky enough to know him. And a lot of the good he does stems through his connection with woo. He’s offered a friendly ear to hundreds, perhaps thousands of people through his chaplaincy work and volunteering efforts. He never pushes his woo on others, and lets people find their own flavour of woo to connect with.

So, as we venture out to fight the crowds at the mall, or as we settle in for time with family and friends, I urge you to find and embrace your woo. Sit peacefully on a beach somewhere early one morning, do some yoga, engage in some healing prayer and meditation. If you have a religious conviction, embrace the wonder and reverence of the traditions that have been handed down for generations.

And as you go about your busy days leading up to Christmas morning, look for the good all around you. Make a little magic and woo as you go about your day by doing something as simple as practicing extra courteous driving or letting someone in front of you at a queue if you have the time and inclination to do so.

Marrying Grumpy means I have abandoned a number of family and religious traditions of my childhood. But we will all attend Church on Christmas eve as a family, and please believe I will be praying for all of you and wishing you all good woo.

I’m not ashamed to woo, and you can do it too.

Much Love and I wish you a safe and beautiful holiday season.

XXOO